Solstice

“Summer Solstice, New York City” by Sharon Olds is told in her perspective, one that is witnessing a potential suicide at the end of the longest day of the year. The victim is attempting to jump off the side of, what can be assumed to be, a neighboring building and the speaker believes that the man has finally reached his breaking point. Through the act of almost jumping off, to then being saved by the police, the victim is able to gain composure and leave his old life behind. His life that had…

Today is Ganesha Chaturthi, also known as the birthday of Lord Ganesha! This holiday can fall anytime between August and September and the festival itself is known as Vinayaka Chaturthi. The date varies only because the start of the celebration begins on the fourth day of the waxing moon period. The waxing moon is important because this is when the moon begins to grow into the full moon, bringing a time for new beginnings, positive change, and good luck! It is important to remember not to look…

Exactly. From Shounai the mountain does not seem to be round shaped, but it can be seen a clear round shape from the upcountry. On the other hand, the purpose of the fire festival in on December 31 to January 1st is to burn away the year’s plagues. New year is the point when the power of fire burns down, so people need to fuel the fire for all of the people living in the 33 countries in Haguro territory. Bright sunlight is necessary for a rich harvest. In this way, Mount Haguro represents…

Spring has sprung, or has it? Here we are in the first week of May. The weather is still chilly and the nights are still cold. Spring has always been my favorite season for many reasons. The best part about spring to me is my birthday. Unfortunately, April's weather is all over the place. For example, one year on April 8th it was 81 degrees outside. However, the next day (which happens to me my birthday) only got up to 45 degrees. I was lucky enough that I was able to get out there the day…

Mabon, or the Fall Equinox, is another harvest festival. It is celebrated on September 21st in the Northern Hemisphere and on March 19th is the Southern Hemisphere. However, depending on how Mabon falls, it can also be on either the 22nd or the 23rd of September in the Northern Hemisphere. Just like Ostara, Mabon is a time when dark and light are balanced, but mostly the darkness sets in and we go from warm weather to cold weather. We harvest what is left in our gardens before the freezing cold…

Stonehenge and the solstices. I picked those two because I always liked learning about…

The Comradtic Mechanism “Summer Solstice, New York City” by Sharon Olds; is a short poem about the longest day of the year, a day when one person tries to end his own life and the police who work to save him. Your life. Possessive. It is your life, no one else. People like to think and speak in these terms; to make things belong to them, or to make themselves feel like they do. When people think about how to handle a problem that is effecting them, they like to think is a small closed off space.…

I am of course old enough to remember when festivals still retain a whiff of their alternative roots. How far have we travelled from those calm, peaceful tranquil and lens flared days. The meaning of carnival has changed dramatically over the period of time. Carnival has always been and would continue to be the show for the elite in society. In many parts of the world where Catholic Europeans set up colonies and entered into the slave trade carnival took root. Carnival, an annual…

balcony of his two-story house in Eastern Florida. The sun beat down on the ever-growing population of the town. The fact that it was summer meant that it was already hot. That temperature was driven up by Global Warming and what day it was- The Summer Solstice. Normally, Lucas would only go outside today for a few minutes, and following schedule, he had been inside for the rest of the day except for now. The stark white balcony was in deep contrast with the rest of the house. The midnight…

“The solstices and the equinoxes are important to us. In fact Christians stole the mistletoe from us. When you kiss under the mistletoe, you share a kiss of life, but the Christians use it to steal a kiss from a woman,” she said, “And that is an act of war.” “You’re a Christian,” I said. “I’m a good Catholic, but I respect life in the old ways,” she replied. Then, she went onto explain the Druid community. In the days before our conversion, she told me our clan led our community. We made the…